The most recent amendments to the Pipeline Safety Act became effective two years ago. Those amendments called for new studies and rulemaking, on issues ranging from verification of MAOP/MOP, potential changes to the identification of HCAs and/or Class Locations, new construction oversight, water crossing standards, and more.
Continue Reading Pipeline Law: The Year Ahead

In response to Section 23(a) of the 2012 amendments to the Pipeline Safety Act, PHMSA issued an advisory notifying natural gas transmission operators that pressure exceedances above maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) plus the build-up allowed for operation of pressure-limiting or control devices, must be reported on or before the fifth day following the date

In response to NTSB Recommendations and the 2012 amendments to the Pipeline Safety Act, PHMSA is preparing to request OMB approval for revisions to its Incident Report and Annual Report forms for transmission and gathering pipeline systems. With regard to both gas and liquid Incident Report forms, PHMSA proposes revisions to collect additional information regarding

President Obama signed H.R. 2845, the “Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011” into law on January 3, 2012. Among other pipeline safety requirements, this bill doubles the maximum civil fine for all safety violations; requires operators to confirm, through records or testing, the MAOP of certain untested gas pipelines in populated

On December 7, 2011, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, working with the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate, reached an agreement regarding an amendment to HR 2845, “The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011.” Most notably, the amendment would require verification of MAOP for all transmission lines located

In order to correct errors, address inconsistencies and respond to rulemaking petitions, PHMSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding miscellaneous changes to the pipeline safety regulations. The proposed changes would revise requirements regarding construction inspections, leak surveys for certain gathering lines, qualifying plastic pipe joiners, mill hydrostatic tests and notifications for pipe operating at